Profile: MisterKite

Sandy Dhaliwal | Monday, 13 October 2008

Trinity Bar is fast becoming a beacon for nurturing raw musical talent. Having given live slots early on in the careers of fiery singer song writer Kate Nash, altrock newcomers Bombay Bicycle Club and irritating piano pop fodder Scouting For Girls; I have a feeling tonight's headliners MisterKite are set to follow suit - minus the unnecessary standing up piano playing. And quite rightly so!

Taking their name from The Beatles song 'Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite', the indie popsters are made up of vocalist Rob Ball, 23; guitarist Bill Hann, 22; bassist Bobby Ridout, 23 and drummer Mark Pearson, 18. While there are already a few bands with the same moniker - including a Swedish progressive hardcore band - they have no plans to change it. Guitarist Bill adds: "It could make for great publicity. The great MisterKite legal war."

Tonight sees the Uxbridge-based foursome fill the aforementioned bar. Rewind back a week and watch the boys play in a near empty pub on the Kilburn High Road. Undeterred by the turn out, they played with charm and enthusiasm, even managing evoke hysteria amongst passers by off the street who came in just to show them some love. Tonight is no different, but just on a larger scale. As Bill puts it: "Filling out smaller venues is better than playing bigger venues. We played Barfly on my birthday and it was dead."

Rob hopes that by the end of around eight months they'll be playing venues such as The Borderline in Tottenham Court Road. However, they all agree that they're happy to play anywhere, as long as there is a crowd, while support slots with Kings Of Leon and The Holloways would do nicely too.

For now, they unleash their energetic brand of upbeat melodic indie to their adoring fanbase. Fusing rhythmic beats, catchy guitar driven hooks and gruff yet dulcet vocals, they draw on influences from seminal acts such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Jam; to modern contemporaries from Kings Of Leon to The Cribs. Drummer Mark adds The Red Hot Chili Peppers, various session artists and Led Zeppelin as his own influences, while Bill cites Cliff Richard, Richard Blackwood and Mystique as his predominant and major influences. Punked up bass lines on 'Happy To Be Here' tip their hats to The Clash while catchy number 'Off' has a Libertines-esque danceability. 'Don't Let Us Down' has a pretty Stones-esque melody while 'Caroline' showcases an upbeat ska element. With banter, a little bit of cheeky swagger and lots of high energy MisterKite are a party band worth looking out for. Catch them while they’re still our best kept secret!